Northwestern will face Wisconsin in return to Wrigley Field in 2020

Coach Pat Fitzgerald dubbed Northwestern’s 2010 football game at Wrigley Field against Illinois “the first bowl game in the history of Chicago” and brushed off complaints about using only one end zone by saying, “It’s like being back (in a sandlot) in Orland Park: Losers walk.”

The Wildcats’ return to the Friendly Confines will feature a new opponent and conventional field of play — with the potential for extra points to land on Sheffield Avenue.

Northwestern has chosen its Nov. 7, 2020, game against Wisconsin for its return to Wrigley Field, the Tribune has learned.

The Cubs and Northwestern officials are expected to make it public during a Tuesday news conference at Wrigley Field. The Cubs play host to the Phillies that night.

Why is Wisconsin the right dance partner?

With Wrigley Field unavailable until November — it doubles as a ballpark, as you might have heard — only two 2020 dates were possible: Nov. 7 against Wisconsin and Nov. 28 versus Illinois. (Northwestern is off Nov. 14 and plays at Minnesota on Nov. 21.)

Just as Illinois moved its 2017 and 2019 games against Northwestern from Soldier Field to Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Northwestern does not want its in-state rival to get a marketing boost from a game at Wrigley Field.

Playing host to perennial power Wisconsin creates the potential for national buzz and a return visit from ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew. In 2010, Kirk Herbstreit and Co. set up at the corner of Clark and Addison.

Both offenses played toward the west end zone because of safety concerns about a tight squeeze near the right-field wall. That angered some fans in the bleachers but had no effect on the game; Fitzgerald said it actually contributed to it being unique.

Northwestern officials deemed the game a victory in many ways: Eyeballs were drawn to Wildcats football, a full house of 41,058 paid a premium for tickets, the Wrigley Field marquee was painted purple and it cemented a partnership between Chicago’s most popular baseball team and “Chicago’s Big Ten team.”

Athletic director Jim Phillips called it “a wonderful event.”

“It captured a national audience, and from the responses I’ve received, there truly was a bowl-like atmosphere,” Phillips said.

His close friend, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, called it “one of the greatest days in Wrigley Field history” and said, “When I saw the Northwestern band on the field at halftime, I almost cried.”

It marked the first football game played at Wrigley Field since the Bears’ final season there in 1970, and Ricketts predicted more games.

Northwestern and the Cubs announced a wide-ranging partnership in 2013, with Cubs business President Crane Kenney saying the deal was “based on friendships. Mostly this was done with a handshake and a thank-you.”

Cubs prospects used Northwestern’s indoor facilities in the winter, and some Northwestern students worked for the Cubs as interns.

The sides targeted 2014 for a return, but Wrigley Field renovations got in the way. The latest ones included removable seats down the third-base line to accommodate a football field NCAA officials would approve.

Not only will the 2020 Wildcats benefit from the new configuration, but the Badgers will play one of the coolest schedules in college football history. In addition to playing at Wrigley Field, they will take on Notre Dame at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Oct. 3, 2020.